My clock was off. It was 87 degrees and uber-humid. I wasn’t hungry.  The streets of Old San Juan were already choked with cars.  KU and I left El Convento passing up desayuno at Wendy’s and heading for La Bombenera, a Puerto Rican diner that has been serving simple dishes, pastries, and coffee for over  a 100 years.

La Bombenera is a bustling, old-school diner with a long counter, orange vinyl booths, and hissing coffee machine.   I discovered La Bombenera while researching food in San Juan. It’s remarkably well known and people rave about their famous breakfast sandwiches, mallorcas. Being a long time fan of McMuffin’s, bagel sandos, crisandwiches, and, for that matter, any egg, cheese, and salty breakfast meat between two slices of dough, I wasn’t leaving San Juan without trying a mallorca.

Here’s another example of the wisdom of crowds theory.  The mallorca is a special sandwich, worth the attention. Think Monte Cristo. Think McGriddle without the influence of the evil arches. Imagine a fried egg, a slice of American cheese, and deli ham between two pieces of pan de mallorca, a sweet, flakey pastry dough, all covered in powdered sugar. That’s the mallorca, sweet and savory, a breakfast bomb.  I could’ve eaten a half dozen but that would’ve certainly induced a siesta. I settled on just one. It was too humid to over indulge, more than I already had anyways.

she wanted my mallorca

So yes, this is one of my favourite albums from this year. I find it rather difficult to review, but I’m gonna try it.

Dan Mangan is 26 year old, Vancouver, Canada based singer-songwriter. Think about classical singer-songwriter stuff, but this time with an ‘edgy’, poppy folk touch with some rock influence too. Though his last album ‘Nice, Nice, Very Nice’, takes this principle to the next level. He has previously released the album ‘Postcards and Daydreaming’.

Let’s continue to the review. The first word that pops up in my mind about this album is ‘intelligent’. In all aspects, this album is intelligent. The compositions, the lyrics, the vocals, they’re all just well thought out. He never seems to fall for the typical singer-songwriter clichés, mainly because his lyrics are so bright.

Lyrically, this is one of my favourite albums. Mangan writes pretty literal texts, they’re filled with honest and observation. And the observations are good, really good. He also uses some great metaphors now and then, better than Ben Folds in his best years(and some of Folds’ are REALLY good). Filled with emotion and honest, the texts never become a cliché like song. There’s always a raw edge, some unexpected words, a great metaphor or some silent that keeps you listening. So a huge compliment to his skill of lyric writing.

Also, if you look at the compositions, the first thing in my mind is ‘intelligent’. They’re diverse, but the songs still remain an album. They might sound pretty easy at a first listen, but after a while, you might notice that these are some pretty decent tunes too. Great melody lines, various instruments, backing vocals, duets, it’s all on this album. Silent spots at the places where they should be and filling a song with instruments where it should be. Some of these songs are nearly perfection, like you would here on an Andrew Bird record. For example, ‘You Silly Git’ would fitted perfectly on the latest Bird album (with different lyrics of course). Though, the rest of the stuff probably wouldn’t fit at all. ‘Robots’ is one of the best pop songs I’ve ever heard. It’s catchy, it’s a great composition, it keeps repeating in your head, it got everything to become a massive hit. I have to say that a lot of his songs keep repeating in you head, without getting annoying at all. ‘Basket’ is one of those songs that rips your soul into a billion tiny pieces and makes you cry on a first listen (or at least me). While ‘Some People’ makes you want to dance.

Another remarkable thing about Dan Mangan is his voice. It just keeps my attention all the time, it never gets boring. It’s a rich, full sounding voice, with a little raw edge.

Compared to his first album ‘Postcards and Daydreaming’, he did really grow, in all aspects. Looking at the composition, lyrics and vocals, it’s a really strong album. Mangan got potential to become one of the new, big singer-songwriters in this world. Especially if he continues the path he’s following now. I don’t know if he can grow much more, but if he could, I think I might have found some competition for Andrew Bird for my spot of favourite musician. His songs are easy to understand, no difficulties or strange compositions. They’re basic and intelligent. And that makes this album a wonderful album, and one of the better ones made this year, and definitely the best in the (indie/folk/pop-) genre.  

[9.3/10]

After School’s Comeback with ‘Because of You’
~digging this song! =D

On Countdown

Under the cut…

-2PM with ‘Heartbeat’ + #1
~~yaaay congrats =D liking the song more now kekee
-SS501’s Goodbye Stage with ‘Love Like This’
~~doesn’t it feel like they didn’t promote for a long time? it’s been a month but it feels shorter for some reason
-KCM’s Comeback with ‘One Day’ ft. Park Sae Mi
~~he sings some really nice ballads ^^. cool stage; he’s playing piano and there’s a lot of people around him playing instruments
-E-Tribe’s Debut Stage with ‘Mother’
-Brown Eyed Girls with ‘Sign’
-BEAST with ‘Bad Girl’
~~Doojoon is back! Turns out he was volunteering in Africa, and the show will air soon
-U-KISS with ‘Man Man Ha Ni’
-IU with ‘Marshmallow’
-SeeYa with ‘His Voice’
-MC Sniper with ‘Magic Castle’
-H-Eugene ft. Sunday (CJSH The Grace) with ‘Love Warning’
-Rumble Fish with ‘Are You Serious?’
-Wheesung with ‘Trickling’
-DNT with ‘The Love in My Heart’
~~this is a great song.
-K.Will with ‘Miss, Miss and Miss’
-Rainbow with ‘Gossip Girl’
-Lady Collection with ‘Peeking’
-Yurisangja with ‘Bad Person’
-SHU-I with ‘Please Help Me’
-Lee Young Hyun (Big Mama) with ‘Sorry, I Love You’

2PM with ‘Heartbeat’ + #1

SS501’s Goodbye Stage with ‘Love Like This’

KCM’s Comeback with ‘One Day’ ft. Park Sae Mi

E-Tribe’s Debut Stage with ‘Mother’

Brown Eyed Girls with ‘Sign’

BEAST with ‘Bad Girl

U-KISS with ‘Man Man Ha Ni’

IU with ‘Marshmallow’

SeeYa with ‘His Voice’

MC Sniper with ‘Magic Castle’

H-Eugene ft. Sunday (CJSH The Grace) with ‘Love
Warning’

Rumble Fish with ‘Are You Serious?’

Wheesung with ‘Trickling’

DNT with ‘The Love in My Heart’

K.Will with ‘Miss, Miss and Miss’

-Rainbow with ‘Gossip Girl’

Lady Collection with ‘Peeking’

Yurisangja with ‘Bad Person’

SHU-I with ‘Please Help Me’

Lee Young Hyun (Big Mama) with ‘Sorry, I Love You’
[yotube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Qf2wm_R1c]

Sushi Mio is found in the strip mall on the southeast corner of Hilderbrand and Roswell Road, fairly close to F2O. It’s a neat place, with a good looking outside and a good looking inside. The pretty insides are one of the best things about this restaurant.

I came during lunchtime, looking for something unassuming and fast. Yes, I know these places serve sushi but I was looking for other alternatives. The non-sushi offerings at lunch are relatively sparse, but they had udon, yakisoba, ramen and three different kinds of donburi. I had one of the rice bowls.

Miso soup and a salad came with the donburi.

I enjoyed the donburi. The octopus sushi wasn’t bad either, and the soup and salad hit the spot. Service was excellent, easily the best part of the restaurant for me.  The calm pretty atmosphere is also a nice respite from most lunch places, which can be crowded assembly lines in this part of town.

Verdict: Good looking, excellent service, good food. Recommended.

Sushi Mio
6125 Roswell Road
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 256-1686

Is the name of the artist I couldn’t remember yesterday when we where talking about Anders work.

This is one of his self portraits:

/mattias

Namie Amuro’s comeback album is going to be released on the 16th of December, and the album’s called Past < Future! There’s gonna be 12 tracks on it. The MV for one of the tracks, ‘Meaning of Us’ was released today =D It’s a really pretty ballad track, and as usual, she looks gorgeous. And…another MV was also released! The song’s called ‘FAST CAR’ and it’s an upbeat track. Very Namie Amuro style song, and the outfits are very interesting. They seem to be Lolita style clothing. She looks very pretty; like a doll in these outfits! The setting is rly cool too.

Meaning of Us

FAST CAR

Info about the album under the cut.

Anyway as I said before, there’s 12 tracks for the album. Here’s the tracklist…
01.FAST CAR
02.COPY THAT
03.LOVE GAME
04.Bad Habit
05.Steal my Night
06.FIRST TIMER feat.DOBERMAN INC
07.WILD
08.Dr.
09.Shut Up
10.MY LOVE
11.The Meaning Of Us
12.Defend Love

There’s a regular album version, and another which is album + DVD. The album comes with a poster.
Preorder CD HERE and CD+DVD HERE.
The CD is $40.75 USD and the CD+DVD is $51.49 USD. Yes, it’s pricey. ALL Japan versions of CDs and DVDs and concerts are more expensive. Just because it’s from Japan -.- Anyway, this album is definately one to look out for, because Namie Amuro rarely disappoints, and I have high expectations for this album! One of the queens of Jpop is back!

Opera’s latest Web browser introduces a new technology platform, Opera Unite, allowing you to stream music or share files, photos and more, right from the browser.

• Features At A Glance:

1. Opera Unite
Use applications to share content with others in a quick and easy way.

2. Opera Turbo
Boost your speed with our powerful servers to compress Web pages, so you get them faster.

3. Visual tabs
Drag the handle underneath the tabs to reveal thumbnails of your open Web pages.

4. Customisable Speed Dial
Get easy access to your favourite sites every time you open a new tab. Choose the layout and the background you prefer.

5. Opera Link
Synchronise your Speed Dial, bookmarks, notes and other useful data.

Opera Features screen 1 (Click image to enlarge)

Opera Features screen 2 (Click image to enlarge)

• Plus, My Opera Community offers:

Free Blogging
Our blogs are easy to use and fully customizable. We also support mobile blogging.

Free Photo Sharing
It’s easy to share your photos on My Opera. You can share with everyone or only with your friends – it’s up to you.

Free 1GB Web Space
You get 1GB of free space to upload your files and photos.

This post may, at first, appear like shameless product placement, but I’ve been using Opera myself for years, alongside Explorer and Firefox, and while it has a few things I’d like to change – what software doesn’t? – it’s excels beyond all other internet browsers, including Firefox, who have often sought inspiration from Opera only to reap the benefits. But that’s enough politics, because Opera is the Internet’s best kept secret.

You don’t have to remove or stop using your current browser.
Opera, Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome etc, can all happily run side by side giving you ultimate choice. Sometimes one browser might work better than others in certain situations.

There is even a portable version of Opera that’s capable of running standalone on a USB stick.(no install required!)

Try it! ;]

The Links
→ Download Opera
→ Download Opera Standalone
→ My Opera Community: Free Blog & 1GB webspace.

I just wanted to share this video, simply because it’s extremely funny!

I found it on stereogum/videogum, so credits for them!
Enjoy!

Dan Mangan is one of the best artists I discoverd this year. And yes, his album is my favourite from this year too, beating Andrew Bird, St. Vincent and a lot others. I’m still working on a review, but I don’t have much time because I’m pretty busy with school!

This time his songs are in the CBC 3 podcast. Check it out! Plus he wrote some stuff on his blog on his site(and there are some other updates here). Again, I recommend you to check out his album Nice, Nice, Very Nice.

I’m still a bit frustrated that I can’t go to any of his dutch dates :/

This wine is made from Pedro Ximénez, traditionally known as a sherry grape. Joseph and Silvia Puig make the only still Pedro Ximénez in Spain. The grapes are sourced from a 75-year old vineyard near Scala Dei. The wine is carefully fermented in the “old-style” without temperature control. A cold maceration for between 10 and 18 hours in new French oak barrels is followed by native yeast fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel vats. About 150 cases are produced annually.

Light golden yellow color. Aromatics of stone and orchard fruit with white pepper. On the palate, more orchard fruit with golden raisins, almond butter, bay leaf, citrus and pepper. Complex, rich and substantial with good acidity and a persistent finish. 13.5 percent alcohol.

I thought this opened up a bit and was more enjoyable at 55-56 degrees. I would recommend any of the wines from Odysseus. Though the Grenacha Blanca might be my favorite, the PX is the most unique and interesting.

About Viñedos de Ithaca
The father and daughter team of Joseph and Silvia Puig named their winery Odysseus in honor of the Greeks who first brought vines to Spain. Odysseus makes Garnacha Tinta based reds, as virtually all of the producers in Priorat, but they have attracted the most attention for their Garnacha Blanca.

Viñedos de Ithaca Odysseus Garnacha Blanca Priorat 2008
Viñedos de Ithaca “Akyles” Priorat 2007

Pollards Moving and Storage have quickly become one of the areas leading removal companies. We are a family run removal firm based in Halifax, West Yorkshire. We provide a professional and stress free removal and storage service throughout Yorkshire and the U.K.

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I just finished reading Bill Bryson’s The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America. Yes, I realize it was written 20 years ago, but it’s good and I just read it for the first time so I’m going to write about it anyway. If you’ve ever read a Bill Bryson travelog then this one was fairly similar to the others. I’d previously read Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island (about traveling around the UK) and Neither Here Nor There (about traveling around continental Europe) and enjoyed both of them. The basic premise for one of these books, if you’ve never read them, is that Bryson starts a journey for some sentimental reason and then travels from city to city to city in a general state of disappointment with humanity and urban development. He also is pretty snarky about the people he runs into on the way. All in all it’s a good time.

This time around Bryson is reliving the essence of his family vacations in his youth. Starting from his home base in Des Moines, Iowa Bryson first heads east and explores the deep south, atlantic coast, appalachians, new england, and great lakes. Then starting out from Des Moines again heads west to explore the great plains, american southwest, rocky mountains, california, the american ‘west’ big sky country and the badlands before returning to Des Moines. I particularly liked his descriptions of Charleston, SC and Traverse City, MI (my hometown) both because they seemed spot on and he felt about them as I do.

I have to admit though that Bryson’s travelogs do get a bit tiring to me after a while. Even though at many points they are laugh out loud funny I can only take so much complaining about waiters, motel quality, and suburban sprawl. The books are more about the journey than they’re about the destinations so they in essence become process stories – and frankly the process can get a bit repetitive. That said if you haven’t read Bryson before you should definitely give him a chance because the books are hugely entertaining and provide an interesting insight into the ourselves as a society.

SHINee on Live Session! =D They sang ‘Y.O.U. (Year of Us)’, ‘Juliette’, ‘Graze’, and ‘Ring Ding Dong’!!!! YAYZ TO YEAR OF US I ADORE THAT SONG. This was recorded on the 10th, only 2 days after Jonghyun recovered from H1N1. But no Onew T.T ah well… make do with what you get I guess. Live band ^^

Y.O.U. (Year of Us)

Juliette

Graze + Ring Ding Dong under the cut

Graze

Ring Ding Dong

Quite a bit of video releases…

2PM + Kim Tae Hee CF for Paris Baguette
~super cute! dunno who’s luckier, 2PM or Kim Tae Hee!

Making of 2NE1’s Baskin Robbins CF
~very cute, and like i said, their image in the CF is rly different from their usual image

Clazziquai + Mighty Mouth + Navi + As One + Bizniz, Dok2, MBLAQ, G-Dragon, and IU all under the cut!

Mighty Mouth, Bizniz, Navi, As One, and Alex of Clazziquai all came together to collaborate for a winter mini album =D The mini album’s called Winter Line, and 2 MVs have been released featuring two of the tracks on the mini album. ~omg yes! I totally love Alex, Navi and As One!!
Alex (Clazziquai) + Bizniz + As One MV for ‘White Winter’

Mighty Mouth + Navi MV for ‘Lonely/Hollow Christmas’

Dok2 with ‘It’s Me’ MV
~he’s under Map the Soul (aka Epik High’s company)

Behind the Scenes with MBLAQ for Vogue Girl
~Vogue always releases a vid along with a photoshoot, and here’s MBLAQ’s! OMG Mir looks soo adorable eating and drinking milk! HHAAHAAA and Lee Joon…*faints*

Behind the Scenes with G-Dragon for Vogue
~like I said, Vogue always releases a vid along with a photoshoot…I’ve got to say G-Dragon’s photoshoot was one of the weirdest ones I’ve ever seen…actually pretty much almost all the weird ones I’ve seen were of him XDDD

MV Making of IU’s ‘Marshmallow’
~not a big fan of the song, but IU’s a great singer and super cute too!

Have you ever wondered what types of foundation to use to achieve that “baby soft, smooth” finish? As always, the first step in accomplishing this look would be to seek professional skin care routinely, and to keep in mind that professional skin care can be affordable. Besides general skin care, other factors are the tools that you use (i.e. brush, sponges). Knowing what types of foundation is best for your skin type, and the finish you are seeking i.e. matte, natural matte, satin, or dewy. Let’s begin discussing foundations for skin types:

Oily skin: For oily skin, the foundation most recommended is a water-based foundation (meaning water is the main ingredient). This skin type should stay away from oil-based foundation. When researching products be aware that some products that are labeled oil-free simply means free of mineral oil, but may contain some content of oil that binds the properties. (We will discuss ingredients in greater detail in the future). Another recommendation for oily acne prone skin is to use a silicone based primer before application. Silicone helps the foundation to go on smoothly. All skin types can use a silicone base primer. Water-based creams or alcohol-based liquids can be used under the foundation. If medicated gels are applied they need to be allowed to dry before the foundation is used. Liquids, powders, and aerosol foundations are suited for this skin type. For skin with many comedones (blackheads), sheer foundations are best.
Dry skin: Oil-based products are recommended for dry skin. Oil-based and some water based foundations with a moderate degree of oil will give you the best chance of retaining moisture in your skin. The oil will give a semi-matte finish, and will be easier to apply. Cream sticks are suited for this skin type.
Sensitive: Sensitive skin types should use lightweight foundations that are hypoallergenic and non-comedegenic.
Combination: If you have combination skin (like dry skin with oily T-zone) then you need a makeup that has moisturizers in it but is also oil-free and provides shine control for your oily spots. There are many makeup choices for combination skin. This skin type should concentrate on picking products that best suit whichever problem is worse — oiliness or dryness.
Scarred skin: Cake foundations are recommended, as well as a silicon base.
Mature skin: Mature skin with concerns of fine lines & wrinkles should use a firming foundation. Mature skin, as well as dry skin, should refrain from using mineral-based foundations due to their settling into the lines and causing the finish to look blotchy.

Tips: # 1 It is very important to know your skin’s undertone coloring. Are you warm, cool, or neutral? Warm tones are yellow, orange, or red orange. Cool tones are blue, blue green (olive), or blue red (pink). Neutral tones have equal amounts of warm & cool colorings. Some professionals also view the undertones in ranges such as: very light, porcelain or white, ivory, cream, pink florid, sallow, olive, tan, brown and ebony. Foundations should be matched to your natural skin under tone and should appear as if you have nothing on. Keep in mind that the purpose of a foundation is to even out the skin tone, minimize imperfections, and give the skin a smooth, healthy glow. During the course of a year, it is recommended that you use one of two foundations. One shade for summer and another for winter. Skin tones tend to lighten during the winter months and become darker during the summer months.
#2 Before applying foundation be sure to always apply a moisturizer first, then your primer. A primer is not to replace your moisturizer. The reason behind the moisturizer is that if your skin is thirsty for moisture when applying foundation the skin will absorb the foundation thinking it is hydrating; leaving an uneven coverage. For women who want coverage that is the same consistency as a tinted moisturizer, but delivers more coverage, a great way to achieve this is to add a little of your liquid foundation along with your daily moisturizer.
#3 SPF- Sunscreen is important and can’t be stressed enough. The number one cause of aging and damage to the skin is sun exposure! Sun protection is the most important skin care product you can use everyday. The first and most important defense against wrinkles is the daily use of sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher. It can be in your foundation or moisturizer and it will help to prevent new wrinkles from developing and existing ones from getting deeper.
#4 When applying foundation be sure to apply foundation a little below the jawline. Also, if taking photos be sure to touch up the ears.

Ginger has always been my magical home remedy for nausea! So I try my best to have ginger snaps (I get the Nabisco ones from Sultan) or any other ginger containing snacks! Sometimes ginger tea…

I passed by Marks & Spencer last week and got some organic stem ginger cookies

They’re SO GOOD!

watch it here!

It should be good. You can now watch the soundcheck (Andrew just finished his, Jesca’s doing hers now)! Seriously, watch it! I hope I’m in time because I have to babysit.

Marie and Marcel run Domaine Richaud, with Marcel as winemaker and Marie as manager. Marcel makes some wonderful wines, mostly of the little known village appellation Cairanne. Many consider him one of the top 2 or 3 producers in the appellation. His estate is made up of plots inherited from his parents as well as rented parcels, so some grapes are sold to the local co-op or to négociants. The wines are made in the vineyard by pruning short, never using synthetic fertilizers, keeping the average age of the vines over 25 years old and keeping yields low. His wines are made in large capacity cement vats, each varietal is vinified separately and blended some 8 months later. The wines are not frequently racked and are not fined or filtered.

Richaud’s wines are said to be very popular in France, selling out almost immediately after release. I have read that sales at the estate’s tasting room account for the majority of all sales (though I find that difficult to believe).  On a trip to Paris in September, we went to dinner at Le Gorille Blanc on our first night and I was more than a little excited to see his ‘07 Galets offered by the glass.  In the United States it takes a little bit of work to find his wines — and the l’Ebrescade is one of the more difficult given total production is around 400-450 cases. I have only found the ‘05 l’Ebrescade at the little shop of treasures otherwise known as Chambers Street Wines.

The l’Ebrescade is Richaud’s top wine, with an average vine age of 45 years — grown on clay and limestone soils. It is a blend of 37% Grenache, 28% Syrah and 35% Mourvèdre. The l’Ebrescade is aged in barriques or demi-muids. Dark red fruit, violet, soy sauce, rare meat and hint of bubble gum on the nose. The aromatics remind me of Domaine Gramenon wines in that they have a just a touch of grape Bubblicious on the nose. Also, like the wines from Domaine Gramenon, Richaud’s wines express a purity of fruit. Loaded with pure dark red and blue fruit, earth and licorice with some meaty and smokey nuances. Dense and rich, balanced and precise. Solid acidity, structure and finish. 14.5% alcohol. Imported by Louis/Dressner. Strongly recommended. I drank this over the course of three evenings. I thought it showed best on day 2 and would certainly decant prior to serving.

All of Richaud’s wines would be on my list of top wines for the year. Other wines would include the 2007 Domaine Gramenon Sierra du Sud and La Segasse, the 2005 Basetti from Edmunds St John, the wines of Ariana Occhipinti and a number of 2007 Rhônes.

Myung Ga Won is just west of the intersection of Pleasant Hill and I-85, open 24 hours, and has been visited by two of the most active bloggers in Atlanta, Jennifer Zyman and Chloe Morris. The location is a bit hard to describe. From Pleasant Hill, it’s behind the McDonalds, though not really accessible by entering the McDonalds parking lot. It’s roughly across the road from the nearby Cafe Mozart, a description that would only make sense if you’re in the Cafe Mozart lot. That said, it’s easiest for me to do just that, enter the parking lot of Gwinnett Mall Corners and then cross the road (Day Drive) to Myung Ga Won.

One other item of note, it’s cash only. If you come, pick up a couple 20s on the way.

That said, it’s two stores high, and kind of light, fashionable and modern in decor. It’s not as heavy and formal, as say, Mirak Korean. Panels made of laminated wood are everywhere, forming tables, seating and walls. And because of the wild hours, once you sit, there is a button to call the waitress.

The menu is classically Korean, and as I didn’t want to buy bulgolgi once again, I tried a dish whose English name is “spicy pork stir fry” and in Korean goes by jae yook bokum.

banchan, or side dishes.

jae yook bokum, or spicy pork stir fry.

It’s tasty. The banchan were also good, and the utensils here are all of steel. You get a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. The chopsticks are for eating, and the spoon, if I recall correctly, is for the rice.

The time I went, the receptionist appeared to be the only “native” English speaker, a girl who looked to be of mixed parentage. I asked about that, as my daughter is 1/4 Japanese and has issues because of it. (Asians think she’s American. Americans think she’s Asian. Hispanics get mad at her because she has dark features and she doesn’t reply to them in Spanish.) That said, despite the very Korean clientele, it’s not much different from any late night spot. A guy in a Dallas Cowboys jersey sat talking to a man in Puma gear. Three women, well dressed and in fashionable coats, sat chatting and sipping warm drinks. People flowed up and down the stairs, usually friendly and open.

I like it. It’s a heavier late night alternative to something like, oh, IHOP.

Myung Ga Won
1960 Day Drive
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 622-1300

Now this is what romantic comedies should aim to reach. It’s a story that most people can probably relate to, a simple and perhaps redundant love story, but told with sensibility and quirkiness. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Tom, who works at a greeting-card company in LA, though he’d rather be an architect. Zoey Deschanel is Summer, the new girl in the office, who seems to be just perfect for Tom. At least in Tom’s mind she is. She doesn’t want a big complicated relationship. She doesn’t believe in romantic love and she makes that clear, repeatedly.

Tom is a prime example of what happens when you grow up listening to too much sad British pop music: unrealistic expectations for romantic love and a taste for skinny ties and sweater vests. Now he’s fallen, and fallen hard, for Summer. We are treated with a narrative that moves forward and backward in time. This omniscient narrator makes us feel like we’re listening to a Christmas carol and it gives a strange comforting hope that everything will be okay. I really enjoyed the visual treatment the movie got. It’s nothing incredibly original but it creates an acceptable level of cuteness to the whole plot – cause love is all about details. The details of devotion that we make ours.

Even though we know their love story is doomed, there’s a good use of humor and lightness that keeps it smart and charming. The part where Tom compares his expectations with the crude reality is just great. Big kudos to the cast, not forgetting to mention Chloe Moretz playing Tom’s little sister. Hilarious.

Author’s Note: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch.

I have never met a man who could remain indifferent to Jesus. Some may mock Him, but He grows with the mockery and makes the instrument of torture a thing so precious that it the world’s greatest artists have labored to gild and celebrate it. You cannot defeat a mythic man, because His breath is more important than your quip, His silence more profound than your words, and His jests more wise than all of philosophy.

via Jesus: A Mythic Life » Evangel | A First Things Blog (by John Mark Reynolds).

Please don’t misunderstand the word “mythic.”  In this context (read the original) it does not mean “false, made up, fake.”  This is probably one of the most beautiful, true, and good essays I have read in many a moon.

This book reminds me of being at my grandmother’s house. It lived there along with a hodge-podge of other toys that had just always lived at Grandma’s. Like my mother’s old baby doll and the clothes my Grandma sewed for it. And the life-sized stuffed pink python my Grandpa brought my mom from a toy convention he attended in NYC in the 60s.